Heat exchange apparatus



Aug. 3, 1937. F. M. DURAN HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed. May 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Gum/wan Aug. 3, 1937. F. M. DURAN HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Filed May 27, 1955 Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to heat exchange apparatus and more particularly to a novel form of apparatus employing a rotary impeller for handling all gaseous fluids in heat exchange relation in a more efficient manner than heretofore accomplished.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus which shall employ a hollow rotary impeller adapted to be driven by a motive heating fluid and receive therein a fluid to be heated by said fluid.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heat exchange apparatus of the character designated in which air shall be forced through said impeller in heat exchange relation to the motive heating fluid which drives said impeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character designated having a novel form of impeller structure which shall be more eflicient than similar apparatus heretofore employed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of heat exchange apparatus which shall be particularly adapted for use with the exhaust of a prime mover such as a turbine, steam engine, or internal combustion engine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heat exchanger of the character designated in which a portion of the motive heating fluidshall also be utilized to effect a novel circulation of the medium to be heated in the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character designated which shall be durable in construction, simple in operation and readily applied to a wide variety of uses.

These and other objects of the invention will be more manifest from the following specification and drawings and particularly set forth in the claims.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of a heat exchanger embodying the features of my invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View on line 22 0f Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of a heat exchanger assembly and connections therefor; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a novel heat exchanger unit constructed and arranged in accordance with my I invention. A heat exchange unit of this kind is particularly desirable and adaptable for utiliz- Y gated to increase the heat transfer surface.

ing the heat of such fluids as exhaust steam, or

hot gases from the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. The heat from such sources which is usually wasted may be put to useful work by heating air for use in various types of heaters. For example, when applied to vehicles such as automobiles, motor boats and railway cars, the

hot air may be utilized to heat a compartment or it may be directed against the windows thereof to prevent the collection of moisture thereon,

or it may be used for any other purpose forwhich fresh heated air may be desired.

The apparatus shown in Figure 1 consists of a stationary casing unit II] which may be supported in the exhaust line of an internal'combustion engine indicated by the numeral II. The outsldei part of the casing may be made of light sheet metal and protected by heat'insulation material such as asbestos, or it may be made of any other suitable heat insulation material toadequately conserve the heat of the motive fluid employed in the heat exchanger. Enclosed in the casing I0 is a. hollow rotary impeller IIJ mounted in suitable bearings I2 and I3 which shall reduce friction to a minimum and thus enable the impeller to be rotated at high speed by the impinging action of the motive fluid on the impeller. This motive fluid is delivered from the conduit I I by a nozzle I4 which directs it against suitable inclined vanes I5 located on the outer periphery of the impeller indicated by the numeral I6.

The impeller I 0' is preferably made of sheet metal, such as aluminum, having high heat conducting properties so as to facilitate the transfer of heat from the motive heating fluid to the 1 air flowing through the interior of the impeller in heat exchange relation to the outside gaseous heating medium. The impeller consists of a top wall I! and an inner top wall [8 spaced therefrom to provide an annular outlet passage I9 as K hereinafter described. Depending from the wall I8 is a plurality of spaced annular walls 20, 2| 22, 23 and connecting curved portions to form with complementary pairs of spaced walls 2425, 26-2I, 2829, and end wall I6, a sinuous pas-; sage leading from an axial or central inlet passage 30 to the periphery and thence to the discharge conduit or passage I9 as indicated by the arrows. It will be noted that the interior arrangement of the passages provides for bringing the heated air into contact with the periphery of the impeller and to further facilitate the transfer of heat at this region, the surface I6 is corru- These corrugations are directed diagonally of thesurface l6 so as to further aid in facilitating the handling of air.

To further facilitate the travel of air through the impeller, the depths of the annular walls forming the sinuous passage vary from the center a to the periphery so that the air may undergo a velocity pressure conversion in the passages. To further aid in increasing the efficiency of the apparatus in handling and delivering heated air, the outer annular passages are provided with a plurality of inclined vanes 3l32 located in adjacent passages. It will be noted that the vanes in adjacent passages are oppositely inclined in order to force the air into the adjacent hotter zone or passage and finally discharge the same at the outlet in the desired highly heated condition, and under a pressure suflicient to deliver it to any convenient apparatus for use.

The heating gases delivered to the casing are circulatedaround and through the bottom of the impeller by a. series of concentric deflector plates 3333 mountedon the bottom of the casing Ill and arranged to deflect the gases between annular walls 2425 for example. Further circulation of a portion of the gases to draw the same from the casing and force the same to an external point of application is accomplished by a plurality of angularly disposed blades or vanes 34-34 located on the exterior top portion of the impeller.

Outside air to be heated is supplied to the central inlet by an outside propeller 35 including a plurality of funnel shaped conduit arms 36 adapted to collect air and force the same into the interior of the impeller II). The outside propeller arms 36 are commensurate in extension radially, with the inside impeller I0 thereby balancing the rotative parts.

Heated air is discharged from the rotary impeller through the top conduit l9 thereof byan axial outlet member 31 which is arranged to form a seal with a stationary delivery tube 38. This tube 38 connects with any point of application to which the heated air may be directed such as a register 33 fora compartment or body oi. a motor vehicle, as shown in Fig. 3. To further improve the heat emciency of my improved apparatus, the conduit 38 is enclosed by an outer conduit 40 which connects directly with the top of the casing III by conduits 4| and 42. adjacent to the vanes 34--34. The return of the gases from the conduit 40 is effected by a conduit 42' located between the annular walls of the conduits 38 and 40, Fig. 4. The conduit 42' connects with the casing discharge outlet conduit H by a conduit 43. Hot gas passes from the casing l0 through the conduits 4| and 42 into conduit 40 and returns through conduits 42 and 43 to the outlet H.

Having thus described apparatus constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, the operation thereof is carried out in the following manner: Exhaust gases from a fluid pressure motor such as an internal combustion engine 65 andthe like are utilized to heat air for any desired purpose in order to conserve the. heat of such gases which. would ordinarily be wasted. The hollow impeller is rotated by the pressure of the gas delivered from the nozzle l4 and the rota- 70 tion of the outside propellers 36-36 draws fresh 75 and is delivered from the region of the periphery air inwardly and delivers it to the passages on the interior of the impeller II) where it is heated by the highly heated gases from the exhaust. The air is heated in passing through the impeller of the impeller where it is in thermal contact with the hottest gas.

To further aid in the efficiency of the heat exchange system, a portion of the heating gases is circulated in an exterior conduit 40 surrounding the air outlet. This. circulation is accomplished by supplementary vanes 3434 on the top of the impeller. These vanes are inclined to draw gas from the peripheral portion of the casing l0 and direct it throughflthe external conduit 40.

Having thus described a heat exchange apparatus embodying a preferred construction, it is obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, an air cleaner as indicated by the strainer member 44, may be located at the entrance of the intake conduit, or else where in the apparatus as may"'be desirable. Furthermore, the arms '36 may be dispensed with and a single funnel shaped member provided in its place and the structure balanced accordingly.

What I claim is:

1. In a heat exchange device,the-combination Q5 of a casing, a nozzle for admitting a'heated fluid to said casing, a hollow rotary impeller mounted in said casing and rotated by the fluid from said nozzle, a central passage for admitting air to the interior of said impeller, a plurality of annular" passages formed by the interior walls of said impeller to provide a sinuous passage radially of the impeller from the central passage to the periphery thereof, and means for conducting the heated air from the peripheral portion of the. impeller.

2. Apparatus of the character designated in claim 1 including means located exteriorly of the casing and connected to the impeller for forcing air through the central passage.

3. Apparatus of the character designated in claim 1 including a funnel shaped inlet member located exteriorly of the casing and'carried by the impeller for directing air into the central passage.

tom of the casing for directing hot gases against the walls of the annular passages.

6. Apparatus of the character designatedin claim 1 including a centrally disposed outlet formed by the impeller walls and communicating directly with the peripheral inner portion of the impeller. a

'7. Apparatus of the character designated-in claim 1 including a centrally disposed outlet communicating directly with the peripheral innerportion of the impeller, and a conduit surround ing the outlet and communicating directly with the interior of the casing for conducting a portion of the heating fluid from the casing in heat exchange relation to said outlet. v

8. Apparatus of the character designated in claim 1 in which the walls forming the sinuous passage progressively vary in depth from the central passage to the peripheral portion of the imp 9. Apparatus of the character designated'in" claim 1 in which the outer peripheral wall of the impeller is provided with a corrugated surface, a plurality of angularly disposed vanes mounted on said surface, and other vanes on the impeller arranged to discharge a portion of the hot gases from the casing.

10. Apparatus of the character designated in claim 1 having an axial outlet conduit for hot air from the impeller, a conduit communicating with the interior of the casing and surrounding the air discharge conduit, and means for creating a circulation of gases in the exterior conduit.

11. In a heat exchange device, the combination of a casing, a nozzle for admitting a heated fluid to said casing, a hollow rotary impeller mounted in said casing and rotated by the fluid from said nozzle, a central passage for admitting air to the interior of said impeller, and means for conducting the heated air from the peripheral portion of the impeller.

FELIPE MUNILLA DURAN. 

